Authors who’ve written a series of books or who’ve created a publishing house (also known as an imprint) to publish their books sometimes purchase trademark protection in an effort to protect themselves. This almost never is necessary, though.
A trademark is a symbol, word or phrase that represents a company, product or service. It only exists if it has been legally registered or established by use. For example, if your company’s name were “Snowsports Publishing,” which published a series called “Snowsports 101”, both of those names can be trademarked. It differs from a copyright, which is the contents of the book. So, the text of any book in the “Snowsports 101” series, such as the nonfiction volume “How to Ski,” would by copyrighted. You can’t trademark or copyright a book title, however.
Trademarks need not be registered in the United States. In fact, as soon you publish books using the series title or that imprint name, you as the owner of the series or imprint then own a common law trademark.
The more successful your books and imprint are, the more likely you will want to actually register the imprint and series name. Doing so creates a legal presumption of ownership nationwide, so should you wish to shut someone down for using your series name, your path in the courts will be easier.
For a small writer just starting out, a common law trademark should be sufficient protection. Someone is much more likely to pirate your books than they are to print their own books that use your imprint and series names to take advantage of your fame. And even if some crook did the latter, unless you’re extremely well known, the time and cost of litigation will far outweigh any damages you might collect. So, if you’re Coca-Cola, trademark protection makes sense. If you’re Snowsports Publishing that sells a couple of books a day, it’s simply not cost-effective.
Should you decide to register your trademark, in the United States you will need to apply to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Community Trade Mark System is used in the European Union.
You also can apply for a trademark before even publishing your books. An Intent to Use (ITU) application would be filed in the United Sates with the USPTO.
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• How to avoid copyright infringement
In the United States, the basic law is this: If a work is copyrighted, you can reproduce it only if you give the author credit for it (not doing so amounts to plagiarism) and if you receive permission to use the work. As with all of our laws, though, it’s not quite that simple.
• Should I copyright my manuscript?
You’ve just put the finishing touches on your book and are about to send it off to an editor, a literary agent, or maybe even a publishing house. Seemingly countless hours of thought and sweat went into your novel or nonfiction book, and it’s pretty good stuff, if you do say so yourself. But then a dreadful thought comes over you: “What if some slimeball tries to steal my work and pass it off as his own?”
• Trademark registration is overkill for new writers
Authors who’ve written a series of books or who’ve created a publishing house (also known as an imprint) to publish their books sometimes purchase trademark protection in an effort to protect themselves. This almost never is necessary, though.
• How to purchase an ISBN for your book
Every book that is printed for sale needs an International Standard Book Number, aka an ISBN. This is a 13-digit number given to each book; no two books have the same ISBN. You can find it near the barcode on the book’s back cover and also on the title page.
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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.
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